Attachments
by lauraforthewinoswald
Summary: "Rip needed things under control at all times. But this woman who thrived on chaos had sparked his interest. It was a terrifying feeling, attachments were forbidden by the Time Council and he never would have imagined having trouble with such a rule before meeting Miranda." (How Rip and Miranda fell in love and became a family. / Gets sad at the end)
1. Dangerous Romantic Nonsense

"What's the point of us having set protocols if you get a gold star every time you ignore them?" Rip Hunter scoffed. Miranda infuriated him constantly by disobeying orders. Yet whenever she broke the rules she was commended by the Time Council for her bravery.

"Do I detect a hint of jealousy in your tone, Mr. Hunter?" Miranda smiled. "Loosen up, don't be so afraid to enjoy yourself."

"Adherence to strict guidelines is key to making sure we don't completely destroy the very fabric of human history." Rip straightened up his uniform as he walked out of the training room and down the corridor.

"You don't think I take this job seriously?" Miranda ran up behind him. "I simply mean that there's times where you have to go with your intuition, your gut instinct."

"I won't bet the delicate balance of space and time on sheer luck." Rip replied. "That luck of yours will run out soon enough." Rip felt a strange sort of paradox pulling him in opposite directions as he slammed the door behind him and walked out into the city streets.

Rip always needed everything under control at all times. But this woman who thrived on chaos had sparked his interest. It was a terrifying feeling, attachments were forbidden by the Time Council and he never would have imagined having trouble with such a rule before meeting Miranda. He wasn't sure if he was drawn to her because she was a good challenge or if he was a glutton for punishment.

Their differences aside, the council believed they worked well together. They were two halves of a coin. He provided reliability while she gave an element of flexibility to their missions. Besides minor spats, they moved like clockwork on the field. Captain Hunter and Lieutenant Coburn quickly grew into a top notch team of Time Masters.

They were on their way back home after a mission in 1920's Moscow. They'd been undercover at a royal gala, forcing Miranda to wear a tight black ball gown. She sighed with relief as she took off her heels upon entering the Waverider. She walked into the office where Rip was taking off his suit jacket and hat. Miranda opened up the slit of her gown and took off her revolver holster and placed it on Rip's mahogany desk. "What is it?" Miranda asked as she noticed Rip's gaze falling on her.

"Nothing." Rip quickly walked out of the room. He couldn't focus around her. He loosened his tie as if it were giving him trouble breathing. "Gideon."

"Yes, Captain." The Waverider's interface replied. "Set our course back home to London 2160."

Miranda entered and walked past him. "I'll be in my quarters attempting to take this thing off if you need me."

"Captain, I'm sensing a sudden spike in your heart rate." Gideon interrupted.

"I'm fine, Gideon." Rip replied quickly. He could hear Miranda chuckle as she walked down the corridor back to her quarters. He was overcome with feelings he couldn't quite name. It felt like rage and admiration combined.

Once freshened up and back in their usual uniforms, Miranda walked back into Rip's office. He had his old record player on. He loved collecting little mementos from the past. Fauré's Sicilienne Op. 78 echoed through the corridors of the ship as Rip sat at his desk reading quietly. Rip looked up from his book and half smiled at Miranda leaning up against the entrance to his office. "Good work today." He quickly went back to his reading.

"So you admit I was right?" Miranda walked up and leaned on his desk.

"You love to turn everything into a contest, don't you?" Rip put down his book and looked her in the eye. It was a bad move on his part. He suddenly felt hooked. "You got lucky again, as usual."

"You're brilliant, you know. Madly, intelligent." Miranda smiled. "But you lack the ability to understand people on an emotional level. To get the intel you want from people, you have to coax it out of them gently, appeal to their emotional side."

"I may come off as cold or unapproachable but I think I can be quite personable at times." Rip replied. "I choose to appeal to people's logical side instead."

"Are you so close-minded that you can't imagine thinking with your heart for a change?" Miranda walked towards Captain Hunter's record player. It crackled and skipped a bit before beginning to play Scarlatti's Sonata in F Minor.

"That sounds like dangerous, romantic nonsense." Rip stood up from his desk and walked towards her. "You could easily rise up in the ranks to surpass me if you weren't of such a volatile temperament."

"I don't believe being entirely void of emotion is necessary to be a good Time Master." Miranda replied, straightening out her back as if attempting to grow taller than her 6 foot tall captain.

"I'm not entirely void of emotion." Captain Hunter now stood right in front of Miranda. Pegging her between him and the record player.

"Of course not. You've got two emotions, disgust and envy." Miranda scoffed.

"And anger thanks to you. That's three." Rip replied. Miranda chuckled sarcastically and nudged him with her shoulder as she began to walk away. Rip grabbed her by the arm and turned her back around to face him. "You contradict me on purpose. You enjoy getting a rise out of me." The captain's usually calm voice grew louder.

Miranda raised her voice to match his. "Getting anything close to an emotional response out of you is like squeezing water out of a stone. You're the driest personality I've ever had the misfortune to work with." Miranda stormed out of his office.

"Lieutenant!" Rip chased after her. He caught Miranda as she was about to open the door to her quarters. Rip placed his hand on the door, keeping her from opening it. "Your behaviour on this mission, although commendable at times, has also been careless, sloppy and insubordinate." Rip banged his fist on the door. "Turn and face me when I'm speaking to you, Lieutenant!"

Miranda slowly turned to face him, her eyes glowing with pent up rage. Rip took a step back and tried to hide the lump in his throat at the sight of her fuming. Miranda sensed Rip's resolve softening and smiled, knowing she'd won.


	2. A Minor Hiccup

"Well, go on then. What is it you want to say." Miranda's gaze pierced through the captain.

"I.. I'd like to apologize..." Rip took a cautious step forward. "You're an excellent lieutenant and a valuable asset and..." He looked down at his feet. "Please, accept my apology."

Miranda reached up and took his hand in hers. "Thank you, Captain." She laced her fingers between his and stepped forward, closing the gap between them.

Rip looked up to see her holding his hand. The mere thought of Miranda touching him was exciting. She was electric. He could somehow feel her boundless energy surging through him at the slightest brush of their fingertips.

"I'll forgive you if you forgive me." Miranda smiled. "You're right, I do enjoy getting a rise out of you."

Rip felt himself leaning into her. It seemed out of his control, like a magnetism pulling him in. Miranda moved toward him too, knowing full well what was happening. Their lips met and Rip's hands moved up to her hips. He pinned Miranda against the door as she grabbed his shirt in her fists to draw him in further. But Rip suddenly came to his senses and quickly moved her hands away. "I'm so sorry..." His lips trembled. "Miranda, I.." Captain Hunter was interrupted by the signal indicating that they had landed. "This isn't over, Lieutenant."

"I sure hope not." Miranda bit her lip excitedly.

"Ssshh." Rip found himself chuckling.

Miranda briskly walked past him towards the ship's exit. But Rip suddenly felt fear as he walked out of the Waverider, straight unadulterated fear. This was the beginning of something he knew he couldn't turn back from. He couldn't feel the way he felt for her and just ignore it now that they've kissed.

The next night, Rip went to speak with Miranda in hopes of straightening out their situation. Miranda opened the door in her robe and invited him in. She had a fire going in the living room and a toothbrush in her hand. "Do come in, Captain." She closed the door behind him. "To what do I owe the surprise visit?"

Rip suddenly wished he'd chosen this conversation in a less intimate setting. "About yesterday... What do we do now?"

"It'll have to be our little secret." Miranda walked to the bathroom and squeezed a blob of toothpaste on her toothbrush. "We're Time Masters, we're good at secrets, right?"

Rip shook his head yes as he stood in the bathroom doorway, watching Miranda brush her teeth. "Right, and that'll never happen again." He replied.

"Just a minor hiccup." Miranda spoke with her toothbrush hanging from her mouth.

"Exactly." Rip watched her rinse and spit. "A minor hiccup."

Miranda dabbed her lips on a washcloth and looked at Rip staring at her from the doorway. She smiled. "You want to kiss me again, don't you?"

"God, yes." Rip went in for another kiss, this time without either of them holding back. That night turned into a mad blur. He woke up the next morning in Miranda's bed. He could hear the shower running in the bathroom. Rip put his clothes on in a panic and ran into the bathroom. "Major hiccup!"

Miranda laughed and poked her head out of the shower curtain. "Morning, sunshine." She reached for a towel and stepped out of the shower. Rip quickly turned around. "It seems I haven't much left to hide from you, Captain." Miranda replied as she walked past him, now wrapped in her towel.

"I'm sorry I've complicated everything. I have to go. I... I'll see you at work." Rip quickly left Miranda's flat and ran back to headquarters. The head of the Time Council, Decklin, greeted him at the hanger with information on their next mission.

"It would seem Lieutenant Coburn is running late." Decklin raised an eyebrow.

"Strange, isn't it?" Rip replied as he looked over the details of their mission. "Don't worry, sir. I'll give it to her when she arrives... The intel, that is... for the mission."

Miranda arrived in a rush some seconds later. "Sorry I'm late, Captain." She spoke slightly out of breath. "Had a hard time sleeping last night."

Rip coughed nervously. Decklin gave the Captain a strange look. "You alright, Captain?"

"I might be coming down with something." Rip cleared his throat. They quickly said their goodbyes and jumped into the Waverider. "For God's sake, Miranda." Rip raised his voice as he entered the coordinates on the console. "That was too close."

"Sorry." Miranda replied. "Won't happen again, right?"

"Never again." Rip agreed and strapped himself into his seat.

Miranda strapped herself in as well. "No one hiccups."

"Exactly.." Rip hit the throttle and lifted off. After a stint in 1941 to check in on the scientists behind the Manhattan Project, Rip and Miranda headed back to the hotel room they were sharing undercover as Mr. and Mrs. Hunter.

"You want to do something fun before he head back to the Waverider?" Miranda asked as she sat down on the edge of the bed. Rip stood frozen in place, unable to answer. Miranda suddenly realized the implication and jumped up. "I meant like seeing a movie or checking out a record store or something."

"Oh, that would be nice." Rip chuckled, relieving some tension between them. After sharing a popcorn over The Maltese Falcon, they checked out of the hotel and headed back to the Waverider. Which was camouflaged in the roof of the hotel the whole time. Rip put his latest record on the record player and hung his hat on the coat rack in his office.

Billie Holiday's Love Me Or Leave Me began to play as Miranda walked in and extended her hand. "Care to dance, Mr. Hunter?"

Rip smiled and took Miranda's hand in his. He slowly placed his other hand on the small of her back as they began to sway. "Why did you decide to join the Time Masters?" He asked.

"For the adventure, of course." Miranda smiled. "What about you?"

"There's no calling more important than securing the safety of the human race." Rip replied.

Miranda rolled her eyes. "And you love to feel important, right?"

"You always have to undercut everything I say." Rip shot back.

"I'm sorry, you're right. Let's not talk anymore." Miranda rested her head softly on Captain Hunter's chest. The record had finished playing but they continued to sway to the hum of the Waverider's going into autopilot.


	3. Just Until Morning

It had been months since their last hiccup. They'd done a good job of keeping the situation under wraps. It was business as usual on the Waverider. Both Time Masters closely guarding their hearts, pretended they felt nothing.

Rip Hunter was standing under a ledge outside the Time Counsel Headquarters as rain beat down overhead. Miranda came up behind him and chuckled. "Forgot an umbrella, did you?" She opened up a large black umbrella. "You'd think as a time master you'd be better at predicting the weather." She extended her hand.

Rip smiled and hunched over to fit under Miranda's umbrella. He took hold of the handle so they could both fit. They linked arms as they walked out into the rain. The rain picked up suddenly, making the umbrella nearly useless. A gust of wind tossed the umbrella down the street. They chased after the runaway umbrella, yelling and slipping the whole time, until they caught it in a little empty alleyway. They stood there staring at one another, soaked and out of breath in an alley. Miranda bursted out laughing at the ridiculousness of it all. Rip's heart was beating away at an alarming rate at the sight of Miranda laughing in the rain. She linked her arm around his again and leaned on him as she tried to catch her breath from laughing.

A feeling came over Rip that he couldn't explain, he'd been hiding it for too many months now and could no longer contain it. He leaned in and kissed Miranda. She sunk into the kiss without a second thought. "I guess you're throwing your little lecture about self-control out the window?"

"Shut up." Rip pinned her against the brick wall and snogged her in an almost violently desperate manner.

"My place or yours?" Miranda replied when given a moment to breath.

"Mine's closer." Rip took her by the hand and began walking.

"Sir, yes, sir." Miranda saluted as he lead the way.

Captain Hunter's home was a bit like his office on the Waverider. There was lots of rich dark wooden furniture and miscellaneous trinkets from different points in history. Something about it didn't feel very home-like though, it seemed too clean. It was obvious that Rip spent more time on the Waverider than he did in his own flat. "You've got everything so meticulously organized, it'd be a shame to wrinkle that perfectly made bed of yours." Miranda teased as they got rid of their wet uniforms.

The rain was still beating hard against the window over an hour after they'd arrived at Rip's place. Now in drier clothes, Rip put the kettle on. Not having anything of her own, Miranda snagged one of Rip's shirts to wear. They sat on the living room couch, huddled close together. They had a fire going in the fireplace, it felt like a home now. Rip hadn't felt that before. Almost as if Miranda had had the same though, she asked, "Do you remember your family?"

"I'm not sure." Rip replied. "I don't remember having a father but sometimes I think I remember my mother. But the memories are so vague, I can't tell which are real and which are things I simply dreamt up."

"I'm sorry, Rip." Miranda put her hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright. Hard to miss something you never had." Rip continued to reminisce. "I remember I was about 5 when I was orphaned. I spent years in and out of foster care. I was 10 and living on the streets when the Time Masters found me. I'd been arrested for pickpocketing and they intervened. I was sent to the Time Master refuge after that. I'm forever grateful to the Time Masters. They gave me a purpose in life. I acted out a lot at first. I was an angry aimless kid before they took me in." Rip chuckled. "I'm sure you're having a hard time picturing me as a trouble maker."

"Not after tonight." Miranda nudged him playfully.

Rip blushed. "What about you then, do you have a family?"

Miranda's eyes grew despondent. "I was 16 when my parents died. As you obviously know, the Time Masters love picking up orphans, their perfect candidates for their cause. They saw my excellent marks in my school aptitude tests and found me intriguing. Don't mean to boast but I was sort of a child prodigy." She smiled for a moment but there was still a sense of sadness in her tone. "It's been years but it still hurts sometimes that they're gone."

"I used to wonder as a kid what it would have been like if I'd known my parents." Rip replied. "Probably good that I don't. I couldn't have been a time master otherwise with that sort of attachment."

"You know how I feel about that." Miranda rested her head on Rip's shoulder. "Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."

Rip felt this pang in his chest, this knot in his stomach. He couldn't make heads or tails of it. "Miranda, I..." Rip turned to look Lieutenant Colburn in the eye. "I feel this inexplicable exhilaration when you're near. This abnormally giddy sense of excitement comes over me. Do you suppose that's what love feels like?"

Miranda suddenly realized that she had Rip figured out all wrong. He wasn't cold and calculating at all. He'd never felt love before. He'd been so alone all his life, he couldn't recognize what love was when he felt it in himself. "That's exactly what love feels like." Miranda leaned in and kissed him gently on the cheek.

Rip took Miranda's hand in his "Do you ever feel that way too when you're with me?"

"Yes, I do." Miranda smiled. "I love you, Rip Hunter."

Rip laughed, tears suddenly in his eyes. "Oh, for God's sake. I'm crying. I'm happy crying." He fell back into the couch and covered his face in his hands. "Love is exhausting."

"I've tired you out, have I?" Miranda sat on his lap and gave him another kiss.

Rip wiped the last of his tears away and softly caressed Miranda's face. "Will you stay with me, just until morning?"

Miranda smiled "I'll stay for as long as you want me."


	4. Jonas

As the weeks passed, they grew more comfortable with one another. Their attempts at hiding their feelings were breaking down. They became bolder with where they publicly displayed their affections. It was only a matter of time before Decklin caught them mid-snog in a corridor on the Waverider. They were now both facing expulsion from the Time Council.

"There has to be a way to fix this." Rip attempted to persuade a distraught Miranda to stay.

"I... I have to think.." Miranda quickly walked out of the Time Council Headquarters. She hailed a cab and began to get in before Rip ran up behind her.

"Please, don't leave me." Rip took her hand.

"I need a moment to figure out the best course of action." Miranda got in the cab and left Rip standing in the street.

Captain Hunter feared the worst. He was on the verge of losing his title as Time Master as well as losing the only person he's ever loved. But he decided that when the Time Council called him in for questioning, he'd chose Miranda first over anything else. They were meant to face the council together, but Miranda had convinced the time council to a private audience without Rip. She took full responsibility for the affair, that she acted as a seductress with the sole intention of leading Captain Hunter astray. Rip learned of Miranda's sacrifice and ran to find her.

"I was going to take full responsibility." Rip took Miranda's hands in his.

"I know you were." Miranda replied. "But you belong here. Be a Time Master like you were always meant to be."

"I'm no good at this without you." Rip gazed down at the ground. "You've always been better at this than I am."

"I believe you're going to do great things, Captain Hunter." Miranda reached up and kissed Rip goodbye.

Rip was assigned miscellaneous Time Masters in training for his subsequent missions to partner up with. Time moved differently than it did for Miranda now that she was off the Waverider. It had only been 3 weeks for her when Rip came frantically knocking on her door. For Rip, it had been almost 2 years.

"I'm so sorry, Miranda." Rip scooped her up in a hug with tears in his eyes.

"Did you just say 2 years!" Miranda replied; her eyes wide.

"It was the thought of you that brought me back. I love you so much I... I want to marry you, Miranda." Rip was uncharacteristically giddy.

"You can't, we're like ghosts. Our identities are secret. Even if the Time Masters made an exception to their rules; we don't even have government papers for City Hall to legally marry us." Miranda sat down on the couch and stared into the fireplace. She was lost in thought; a melancholy smile on her face. Difficult as her situation was; she was glad Rip asked her to marry him. She was worried that she'd be left alone.

"There's this town in 1868 with the sweetest little church. When I got caught up in that time drift; I would look at it and think that someday I'd come back for you and marry you there." Rip sat down beside her and took her hand. "We could run away and live the rest of our lives there. We could buy some land and raise a family in peace."

"You're still caught up in your time drift. I'm certainly not living out the remainder of my life in the old west." Miranda chuckled. She paused for a moment. "You said 'raise a family'. I haven't told you..."

"What?" Rip gave her a look.

"Rip, I'm pregnant. I'm eight weeks in." Miranda looked up at him anxiously.

Rip chuckled excitedly and hugged her. "When did you find out? What are we going to do? What should we call it? We'll need a bigger house."

"One step at a time, cowboy." Miranda laughed, relieved by Rip's reaction to the news.

Rip stood up and paced back and forth. "God, I'm so excited but I also can't tell anyone. I might physically explode."

They managed to get a larger apartment in White Chapel under false identities as Rip continued his work with the Time Masters. Miranda was by no means the sort to sit around the house all day so she did her bit to help in her own ways. She started hearing the rumors of corruption spreading into the government. An underground movement was already underway. She joined riots against the rising regime of a Mr. Vandal Savage. Rip adamantly protested her involvement.

"Look at you, Miranda." Rip scolded her. "You're due any day now. The last thing I want is for your water to break from the strain of throwing molotov cocktails at another government building."

"But it would make for quite a story." Miranda replied.

"I'm serious. If anything ever happened to you..." Rip placed his hands on Miranda's stomach. He felt Jonas kicking and almost teared up.

"I've been such a terrible influence on you." Miranda kissed him softly. "I'm turned you into a sentimental romantic fool, haven't I?" She chuckled. "I promise you; I will do all in my power to protect our son."

Jonas was born happy and healthy and far away from any explosives. But a war was looming over the horizon. Jonas learned to walk as Savage's plans for world domination were taking hold.

When Jonas was five; he was old enough to understand that his parents were living double lives. His mother was schooling him and some other children from home because the public schools had become overrun with Savage's propaganda. Jonas understood there was a war on. He knew Savage was a bad man and that his parents were part of the resistance against him. Jonas was convinced his parents were secret superheroes like the ones in his bedtime stories.


	5. People Die Every Day

Rip and Miranda knew they couldn't shield their son from the war forever. They were in the kitchen having a passionate discussion on the continuing welfare of Jonas when Rip lost his temper. It was the middle of the night and unbeknownst to them; their voices had woken up little Jonas. Rip was furiously stomping his way towards the front door when he felt a gentle tug at his trousers. Jonas stood in his pajamas holding one of his bedtime books. Rip's anger melted as he kneeled down to be a Jonas' eye level.

"Daddy?" Jonas whispered. "Are you fighting because of me?"

"What? No, of course not." Rip replied. "We love you, we love you so much." Rip hugged his son tightly. "I woke you up, didn't I? I'm sorry for yelling. I shouldn't have done that."

"Apologize to mummy." Jonas spoke with a sternness that mirrored his father's.

Rip couldn't help but chuckle. "I certainly will." He picked up his son and gave him a big kiss on the cheek. "Alright, back to bed." He carried Jonas back to his room and tucked him in.

"Read me this." Jonas held up his storybook.

Rip looked it over. "21st Century Legends." He sat down beside his son on the bed and opened up to where they had left off. "The Canary." Rip read.

"She's my favorite." Jonas replied.

"I did my dissertation on the League of Assassins" Rip smiled. "I think The Canary is pretty interesting as well." He read till Jonas fell asleep. Rip walked out of his son's room to find Miranda waiting for him in the hallway with her arms crossed. "Miranda... I'm sorry... I.."

"I'm over it." She began to smile. "You know..." She leans in close to him as she whispers. "Maybe we should go on a little getaway. Just a quick holiday from all this."

"Where to?" Rip put his hands around his wife's hips.

"We never did have a proper honeymoon." Miranda kissed him softly.

"We never did have a proper wedding." Rip replied with a chuckle.

"Still want to make an honest woman out of me?" She moved her hands over Rip's shoulders.

Rip smiled. "Well, I wouldn't want to tie you down."

Miranda tugged at his collar and brought him in for a passionate kiss. They made their way back to their bedroom as quietly as they could to not wake Jonas. It was decided that they would leave Jonas in the care of Rip's adoptive mother for a few days while they take their little wedding/honeymoon trip. How they planned on taking said trip was another story.

Rip snuck her into the Waverider and plotted a course for the 1920's. He thought about the little chapel but he knew he couldn't go back to the 1860's so close to where he time drifted. They had a proper wedding ceremony and headed back home to 2166. For Jonas, they'd only been gone a day.

The following months saw the city of London turning into a war zone. It was the worst attack on British soil since the Blitz of the 1940's. Rip asked the time masters if there was anything that could be done but they would not allow any alterations to the timeline. They instead kept him busy with missions while Miranda and Jonas were left to fend for themselves in a war zone. After two weeks, a frantic looking Rip came home and started packing their things. "We have to go now!"

"We have the bunker, we'll be safe." Miranda replied.

"No you won't." Rip looked like he was about to break down and cry.

Miranda understood, he'd seen something. "Jonas?" She asked.

Rip shook his head no and began to cry. Miranda held him close. Jonas entered the and added himself to the hug. "What's the matter, daddy?"

His father knelt down at eye level and kissed his forehead. "We have to go to keep you safe." Just as he spoke, the walls shook from bomb blast. They ran out the door towards the waverider waiting outside but they were ambushed by Savage's soldiers. They shot Miranda and Jonas and quickly retreated. "No!" Rip ran to them. "Not again, please!" He'd already seen them die once; now it was happening again. He ran back to Druce and the time council for help.

"You've brought this upon yourself." Druce replied "This is why we don't form attachments, Captain. Or should I even call you a captain anymore? I hereby strip you of your title as Time Master."

"Well, I can't just sit by and let them die." Rip held back tears.

"People die every day. As a former time master, you ought to know this." Druce explained. "We can't go around saving every person who's ever died." He took a deep breath and tried to seem sympathetic. "Look, I understand you're hurting but there is nothing we can do.

Rip left the room without a final word. He took the Waverider even though he'd been officially sacked and piloting a time machine was now illegal for him to do. "Gideon! Show me other possible extraction points for Miranda and Jonas."

"We could travel to three days prior but the chances are quite slim, Captain." Gideon replied.

"Set the course, Gideon." Rip strapped himself in. He made multiple attempts but all ended in Miranda and Jonas' death in the end. After seeing them die so many times, Rip decided the best course was to stop the man who started it all, Vandal Savage. Rip ran back to the site of him home, now a pile of rubble. He saw Jonas' book on 21st century Legends and took it with him. He would prove the Time Master's wrong. Attachments weren't a weakness and he would prove that love would win in the end.


End file.
